BenQ DC E1000 review

Performance
If the E1000 is a typical compact, it's no surprise that it has the typical problems. Low light is a common problem for compacts. The E1000 struggles to focus in darker conditions, despite the all-important inclusion of a focus assist lamp. In better lighting, the autofocus does a good job. Auto exposure handles most situations well, and an efficient white balance function ensures that pictures are generally exposed in good form.

In these crops from our test shots, the ISO 200 image on the left is a little gritty. The maximum ISO 1,600 image on the right is too speckly to use

The only real letdown is the zoom lens. Start-up is fairly slow, limited as it is by the time it takes the arthritic lens to spin out. Zooming in and out is very clunky, with only seven steps and sluggish movement. There is also a fair bit of barrel distortion at the wide end, causing regular patterns like brickwork to appear to bulge.

Image quality
Image quality is nonetheless above average, as long as you bear in mind the usual issues of noise and low-light shooting. Colour is strong, with the portrait modes doing a good job on skin tones. Dynamic range is also good, providing plenty of detail in high contrast situations such as a backlit subject.

Image noise is less of a problem than in other similar compacts. Images were a bit gritty even as low as ISO 200, but noise is only really visible on a monitor and is kept in check up to ISO 800. At ISO 800, 1,200 and the maximum 1,600, images are unusable. This is fairly typical for this class of camera, and as always the high ISO settings prove to be something of a trap for the unwary low-light snapper.

Conclusion
We don't want to damn the BenQ DC E1000 with faint praise, because it is a very capable point-and-shoot, and certainly represents a step up in quality over the so-so DC C1050. The E1000 suffers the problems of every compact in its class, but the inclusion of shutter priority and generally capable automatic functions equip you to deal with noise and low light issues.

If you absolutely must have 10 megapixels, then for about £50 more, the Pentax Optio A30 is another straightforward snapper. For around that amount of money, you could also get the Canon Digital IXUS 75, which has a lower megapixel count but better features. Nonetheless, for this price the E1000 is an extremely worthy investment -- if you can find it.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday